#23. XHAIN

TITLE: XHAINCAT# (YEAR COMPOSED): 23 (1995/2008)INSTRUMENTATION: piano duoPAGES: 31DURATION (APPROX): 12’36PUBLICATION: BABELSCORES®Note: Heavy Metal New Music – literally. Heavy chains are to be placed on the piano wires during an aggressive and strident opening period.This is followed by more poetic and sensitive modifications to each piano.

XHAIN was initially composed in Seoul, South Korea that uses in part, a translation of parts of DNA coding into music – here processes such as the double helix, ß globin replication, koans “throan room”, mRNA transcription and cytoplasm inspire a musical response.

Modern performance techniques are used including the use of heavy metal pieces lain on the strings, while at other times small metal pieces within a tinfoil boat are laid on the strings. Also the pedals are used in unusually active – even sometimes in agressive ways, such as when the opening clusters are produced by both forearms while at various times the pedals sustain, disrupt and/or disregard the keyboard actions